SEIU Local 503 has released their 2007 scorecard for the Oregon State Legislature. One of Oregon's largest public employee unions, SEIU 503 is known for putting their resources to work on behalf of candidates they endorse - and against candidates they oppose. (In 2006, they endorsed former state treasurer Jim Hill and spent substantial sums attempting to defeat Governor Ted Kulongoski in the Democratic primary.)

As a service to our readers, we'll share 'em here as well. We've combined the House and Senate, calculated and ranked by GPA, and highlighted the candidates for statewide office. Every Democrat did better than every Republican, so we've put the Republicans after the jump. Note also that every Democrat but one got at least a B average.

Update, 1/12/08, 11:48 p.m.: We had a slight glitch with the GPA calculations. The earlier, erroneous ranking was only slightly off - but it's fixed now.

I second the kudos for Merkley. I haven't discovered the definitive differences between Novick and Merkley; looks like Merkley has more national/state organization support but Novick might have more street cred. At any rate it's good to know we have two solid choices and either one of them will be a great challenge to Gordon Smith.

Water boys, bag boys -- you know hauling stuff around for people like yourself who are obnoxious and look down their noses at the work you do (presumably because they think they're "better") isn't all that much fun.

And there are two "p"s in "puppet". Me, I look down my nose at people who can't spell. Twice. It tends to make one's argument look as if it's been written by a fool.

Not really. The pejorative is based on a prison rape/misogyny concept. Not disparaging the area of the anatomy at all, but rather the underlying pejorative associated with making someone their "bitch", particularly in the context of male rape. A pejorative which has long been used as a point of derision against gay men, to "feminize" them in a misogynistic framework, going back into antiquity.

normally, scorecards like this give the actual basis for the grades -- namely, how they voted on legislation. not really any real basis for judgments about how a legislator acts. speechs don't really matter either way; it's the vote that has the impact. i'd like to see what the basis for these grades are — why, for example, they decide Sara Gelser falls short on consumer protection. i can't find this at their website, so it's hard to know why i should trust these grades. just because it's SEIU?

It's probably not too well spelled out on the website, if at all, but the main audience for our scorecard is our fellow members - we're deep in the process of picking who we'll support in the next election.

Once we pick these folks, and some have earned an "automatic" endorsement, then the campaigning begins and we'll be giving plenty of reasons why our fellow Oregonians would be wise to agree with our choices - particularly if they're workin' folks.

Don't forget, you should never, ever, lick the bottom of the blender while the blades are still turning.

Will the day every come when members of differnet parties show respect again for each others differences and find a way to the middle ground to accomplish not what is best for the party, but what is best for the citizens of the state and the country?

Politics are sickening, it for all a huge power play that benefits no one but the parties and the power elite, be it unions, business or special interest. Where the hell are the people and the best interest of the country anymore?

The Presidential debates are like watching a show the the plastic puppets and I mean both parties. The people get to vote for the lesser of two nothings.

alijane, I disagree with you that unions are part of the power elite. Unions are organizations of the people, formed to equalize power relations created by the legal creation of organized capital (corporations). There are problems with internal democracy in unions especially between local and national levels. But if more people were in unions people would have more of a voice in public affairs.

When a small minority of workers are unionized the unionized sector can become a type of special interest. But when unionization was at its peak in the 1950s (ca. 34% of all workers & mostly private sector) the unions also set the competitive conditions for attracting labor that benefitted non-union workers too. It is not accidental that the period of the greatest growth of prosperity for working people (late '40s to early '70s) corresponded to the period of highest unionization in the country.

I do belive that unionization of the work force has benefited working people - in the beginning, but unions seem to do more for the union leaders today than they do for the people they represent. This seems to be the way of organizations, they grow so big and have a huge bureacracy to support and support the top tear comes at the expense of the workers. Take a look at the nonprofit sector where the endowment fund has become the main fundraising goal, not the stated mission.

Power and money, these great institutions and political leaders and of course big business are all in the same boat. Working people and small business get platitudes and an occasional carrot tossed their way.

alijane, we just disagree on what unions do at present, I guess. Personally I think it varies considerably. I also think that part of the problem is that the unionized section of the workforce is so small. It becomes harder under those circumstances for unionized workers to use their unions for the general benefit.

Being at the top of this list just confirms that Speaker Merkley is committed to helping working families.

Yes but I must repeat, he's just too tall, and he lacks a hard left hook - otherwise he's a nice guy.

Here's hoping that someone from SEIU can enlighten us.

Well I've been a member of SEIU Local 503, counting its former identity as Oregon State Employes Association, since the early 60s - as to my ability to enlighten, well I probably rank with this guy - Never, never spit gasoline while smoking.

To the Oregon Legislature:

Some large corporations pay nothing - zero - in income taxes to Oregon. Unfortunately, we don't know which ones or the specific accounting tricks and loopholes they use to avoid income taxes. It's wrong that working families pay more in income taxes to support schools and other public services than some of the largest corporations doing business in Oregon. We ask the legislature to enact corporate tax disclosure and let the public know which corporations are paying their fair share.

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Zip Code*

This petition sponsored by BlueOregon Action and Oregon Center for Public Policy. By signing, you agree to receive email updates from BlueOregon Action and Oregon Center for Public Policy about this petition and other critical issues. (You may always unsubscribe, of course.) Learn more.

To the Oregon Legislature:

Some large corporations pay nothing - zero - in income taxes to Oregon. Unfortunately, we don't know which ones or the specific accounting tricks and loopholes they use to avoid income taxes. It's wrong that working families pay more in income taxes to support schools and other public services than some of the largest corporations doing business in Oregon. We ask the legislature to enact corporate tax disclosure and let the public know which corporations are paying their fair share.

First Name*

Last Name*

Email Address*

Zip Code*

This petition sponsored by BlueOregon Action and Oregon Center for Public Policy. By signing, you agree to receive email updates from BlueOregon Action and Oregon Center for Public Policy about this petition and other critical issues. (You may always unsubscribe, of course.) Learn more.